Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
For the first time since the KMT chairmanship election, Ma said that he would respect Wang's wish to step down as one of the party's vice chairman. Ma said he "temporarily respects" Wang's decision, but the job would be held open for him.
Wang did agree, however, to take up the job of the president of the presidium of the KMT's Central Evaluation Committee.
PHOTO: JIAN RONG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
The two men met for 50 minutes behind closed doors at Wang's official residence on Chungching S Road.
Afterwards, they told reporters that they had agreed to cooperate on controversial legislation and other topics, such as the arms-procurement budget, the flood-control bill and confirmation of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Ma said he took advantage of the meeting to explain four items believed to have sabotaged relations between the two men during the election and contributed to Wang's defeat.
Ma said that the "black gold" remarks made by his campaign office were not targeted at Wang, but were meant to emphasize the party's long-term commitment to combat "black gold" politics.
He said that he had never doubted for a second that Wang is a strong opponent of independence.
Ma said that the issue of alleged fake party members in the Yunlin chapter had nothing to do with Wang because the chapter was later punished for its negligence in handling the matter.
Regarding vote-buying allegations, Ma said that there was no evidence to prove that Wang's campaign office was involved in any way.
Apparently still upset by the vote-buying allegation, Wang said the accusation on the day of the election was groundless and false.
"I told Ma that the footage run repeatedly on TV that day was similar to the coverage of the March 19 election-eve assassination attempt," he said, referring to last year's shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).
Wang said that he has never asked Ma to apologize for anything but misunderstandings must be straightened out. He said that he would do his best, as a party member, to help Ma in the future.
"I think his apologies are addressed to the wrong person," Wang said, adding that "We should just put bad feelings behind us and move on."
Describing their talk as "amicable," the two men agreed that the meeting marked the beginning of a more cooperative relationship.
Both, however, refused to discuss the 2008 presidential election.
"Let's talk about it in 2007," Ma said.
Earlier yesterday, Wang told a radio program host that he did not expect another KMT member to challenge Ma to be the party's presidential candidate. He also said that it had never crossed his mind to seek the presidency.
Ma later said that Wang still stood a chance at running in 2008 because the chairmanship election does not guarantee the party's nomination for the presidential election.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS